Wyden: Obama Gave the Cause of Health Care Reform a "Big Boost Last Night"

Preach!!! Preach it!!!!!

If we don't get a public option, then it's a damn shame we're not getting Wyden-Bennett.

I hope his option works.

Well, Wyden has his own agenda here, doesn't he? That might have been worth mentioning.

As a supporter of single-payer I certainly don't think his "Healthy Americans Act" is the way forward. For-profit insurers are still central to his proposal (the health benefits system for federal employees, SCHIP, and Medicaid would all eventually be brought to an end under Wyden-Bennett, incidentally), and therefore it does nothing to solve the core problem--i.e. insurance companies are out to make money which means denying people care whenever possible to increase their profit margins.

Current or past sponsors of the bill include such luminaries as Norm Coleman, Chuck Grassley, Mary Landrieu, Trent Lott, and Joe Lieberman. Wyden himself is among the top 10% of folks in Congress in terms of contributions from the health care industry. So I don't think he's our (as in progressives/leftists) guy on this issue, or that this bill is something to get excited about.

Brian really should have mentioned that Wyden has his own bill and is one of the most vocal (and, one must admit, knowledgeable) persons in Congress on health care. That context is kinda important, as is the fact that his bill has not really been seriously considered and that probably does not make him happy.

Bud's spouse here- I work daily with people hoping to have a kidney transplant, both those with private insurance as the primary payer, and those with Medicare primary. Medicare beneficiaries are absolutely overwhelmed by the choices they must make - there are 48 different stand-alone drug plans for sale to beneficiaries who choose to remain in Original Medicare in my zip code, and 64 Medicare Advantage plans. I support Ron Wyden but this is the "market (created through) choice and competition" he's referring to and I can attest that it serves NO ONE but the companies in the game. The majority of Medicare beneficiaries choose a plan at the time of initial enrollment and never look into it again, renewing with the same company year after year regardless of increases in premiums or decreases in benefits. Why? Because it's TOO MUCH INFORMATION and too difficult to delve deep enough into the devilish details to know whether one company's plans are significantly different than another. AND they are largely guided by the marketing they receive from the plans because there is not enough help available to them to sort out facts from hype. The private market is just as opaque - most privately insured people, whether through individual policies or employer group health plans - don't know what coverage they have - or don't have - until they get sick and need to go beyond routine office visits and preventative care, at which point they are locked in.

In short, we need a limited market with limited choices that give people a very clear idea of what they are buying and what their out of pocket costs will be beyond their monthly premium. Lisa Morrison